Halloween treat #3: Caramel-filled chocolate chip cookies (with a chocolate spider surprise!)

The other day I wandered into the store and found these new, delicious sounding chocolate chips -- filled with other flavors.  Unable to resist a new baking find, I bought all 4 flavors, including one that didn't even sound all that appetizing to me.

Tonight, I decided to play around with the milk chocolate chips filled with caramel.  I had a few ideas for the other flavors, but I thought I'd go with a classic chocolate chip cookie with the added bonus of the caramel filling.....and a chocolate spider (but I'll get to that later....).

A while ago, I had seen somewhere that someone made the chocolate chips in their cookies to look like spiders.  I thought it was the most fantastic idea ever, but then I was afraid that the caramel filled chips wouldn't work that well, so I baked the cookies with one regular chocolate chip in the top of each, but when they came out of the oven, the chip wasn't liquid enough to make it into a spider, so for the second batch, I pressed a chocolate chip directly into the just-out-of-the-oven hot cookie, let it melt a little bit, and then worked my magic.  I used a tooth pick to draw legs (pulling chocolate from the melted chocolate chip -- and yes, I realize that spiders have 8 legs and most of mine only have 6, but I was having a hard time, and figured 6 legs were enough) and a little head.

And then I went a little overboard with the Halloween decorations:

Nestle Toll House Caramel Filled Delightfulls Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from the bag of the caramel filled delightfulls (chips))

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar (granulated sugar)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1.5 cups (9 oz package) Toll House Delighfulls caramel filled morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (if omitting nuts, add 1-2 Tbsp all purpose flour -- which I didn't see until I typed up the recipe, but I thought the cookies were fine without the additional flour)

About 50 chocolate chip cookies, for spiders
Toothpicks, for making legs

Directions:

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside. 
Beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. 
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
Gradually beat in flour mixture. 
Stir in morsels.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets (I used parchment paper-lined baking sheets)
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown -- 9 minutes was perfect for mine!

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press one chocolate chip upside down into the cookie.
Using a toothpick, draw legs on the spider by pulling away from the melted chocolate chip.
Make a head for your spider, if you so choose.

Let cool on baking sheets.